Sao: Reaper's Call
by Sqrrl
Summary: Kotoru is one of the 10,000 to be trapped in SAO, but something feels off. He's terrible, he nearly died to a boar on the first level, but somehow he's still alive, on the front lines and caught in an 'special event' made specially for Kirito.
1. Birth

_Where, is this?_

The soft breeze rustled the grass beneath him, he sat up. Where was he? Standing up he felt something at his waist, reaching down he felt the hilt of the blade, its edge hidden by a solid leather sheath.

Suddenly he felt something moving towards him, it was a boar, as it charge he quickly jumped to the side. He felt its horn clip his waist as he backed off.

"Ah, sorry, it got away from me." The soft shout was heard from the distance. Taking a turn he tried to run in the opposite direction, maybe it'll go back to the voice, it didn't.

_It doesn't give up does it?_

Turning around he unsheathed his blade, the edge gleamed in the fading sunlight and he directed it at the boar, letting it run itself on the blade.

But it didn't die, taking a scratch to the side it leapt forward and hit him directly. He felt himself fly back for a few moments before crashing into the grass again. The boar still charging.

"Sword skill, use your sword skill." The voice was closer now, he just needed to hold it off for a few more seconds and they could take over.

This procedure continued for several goes before he noticed something, each hit was hurting more, his health bar was going down.

The voice was frantic now, "Get away, get away now!"

But there was nowhere left to run, he readied himself, keeping the blade close he felt what she said.

_Sword Skill eh?_

The boar was gonna crash into him, probably take him down to zero, but he could slash it down in the same instance. But he felt his arm freeze, it was too slow, the boar was gonna hit him first. He closed his eyes.

When he opened them he found he was still alive. A box hovered over the boar with exp and coin gains, he sighed in relief.

"You okay?" He turned to face her, "Level 5, not bad for a fellow solo player." He turned to face her, she was bit shorter than him, her orange hair was well kept.

"Want to form a party? I'm stuck here alone and the hunting ground is getting thin, as two people we could probably make it to the next village without any issues."

He nodded, accepting her request, the health bar appeared below his. "Won't you miss being a solo player?" She smiled at this, the joke had worked.

_Level 3, Asuna?_

"Shall we head out then." She smiled at him then turned, keeping pace he followed her, watching the rapier bounce from left to right.

* * *

"Nice job," as the monster disappeared in a burst of light crystals they paused so she could check the map again. "we're close and it doesn't hurt that there's still ample loot around here."

Then something flashed in the corner, a huge lizardman crawled out. "What the heck, that's not, possible." The cursor colour was listed in the guide book.

_Dark Crimson: overwhelming disparity in level - avoid at all costs_

They stood there facing it, the monster was of average height but the level difference was huge, a creature like this on the first floor? Maybe it was weak, like a free boost or special event.

It was a special event, just not a weak one. A single slash took them down to half health and their blows felt like nothing.

They tried to turn but their path was blocked with a small notice.

'One player must stay'

Before she could react he decided to act, taking both hands on her back he shoved her straight out the door. They slammed behind her as he could only see her hands reach out to him as they closed. He could hear the lizard man charge behind him. He smiled. At least she wouldn't have to die with him.

Damn, damn this game to oblivion.

* * *

Asuna sat there, unable to react. It had all happened so quickly, had she taken a wrong turn? No this path was used during the test as well but this zone never appeared. The party was broken, his health bar didn't even show up. Then the notice popped up.

'Congratulations on surviving the special event, beginner's ambush. Reward: Cloak of Sacrifice'

She felt the red fabric touch her skin as it was automatically equipped. She couldn't even hear the roar of the lizardman. It was over already, she sat there alone, the hood covering her face as tears streamed down.

Somehow she found the strength to stand, dragging herself to the next town.

* * *

He, was still alive. His health bar was almost empty, but he had survived the second hit. It charged again, the two handed sabre dragging along the ground, sparks flying as it slashed again. A hit that he couldn't even see.

But somehow he dodged it, the one after that and the one after that. He focused on attack, letting his instincts handle the blade. His luck held. He couldn't even count how many close calls he had as he hammered at the boss little by little.

He did it, he killed it. Kotoru's arms felt like lead, his blade was badly scratched but his armour was nearly unharmed.

'Congratulations on clearing the special event, beginner's ambush. Reward: Cloak of Unity'

He sat there, the black cloak dropped onto him. He gasped for air.

'Congratulations on being the first to clear achievement, Survivor of Death. Unique Class unlocked: Reaper"

He read the class and its most basic skill was clear to him. The achievement was to survive alone with under 1% health against a mini-boss level monster for six hours. Was that how long he was fighting?

'Skill: When health is below 1%, massive damage boost'

He dragged himself out, barely able to keep his blade up. His head spun from exhaustion, but something guided him, an exterior force. He felt like a puppet, a puppet to the game.

_Found you..._

* * *

Asuna sat alone in the meeting. If he was still alive he'd be here, but he wasn't, she didn't even remember to put him on her friend list.

The words seemed distant to her, she scanned the crowd with false hope. As someone spoke beside her, she didn't notice them at first.

"You got left out too?"

She didn't even turn, her response was not even focused.

"A solo player?"

_Won't you miss being a solo player?_

It was all she could do to keep herself from crying. She felt her throat stick up, she didn't dare open her mouth. Quietly she tried to steady her breathing.

In her mind those last few moment flashed through, his thoughtless sacrifice to save her. They'd known each other for about a few days at best. She gritted her teeth, making sure the hood was low enough to cover her teary eyes.

Damn this game.

* * *

"Beater? You say?" the man in front of him nodded.

"They say he sacrificed the group leader so that he could get the killing blow bonus when they cleared the first boss. I don't know his name, but they say he wears the item he gained like a trophy."

"Do you know where I can find him?" The information broker pointed at the map.

"I assume he's going to go the best spot for hunting, beta testers say that it's here. But he might know a better place."

Kotoru left in a hurry. Taking routes risky for his level he cleared them as he did the ones before, going directly to the zone. He was hunting again and it felt good. On the first floor he could only go after petty thieves and some hunting ground hogs, now he felt like he was hunting a real criminal.

The memory of Asuna flashed through his head, he knew she was still alive. She wouldn't die that easily.

_Sacrifice_

He stopped, he could hear the sounds of swords in the distance. Perhaps this was him, he drew his own blade and moved into the field. As he did the monster the person was fighting was defeated and he was face to face with its previous opponent.

"Asuna..."

* * *

_Impossible..._

"Asuna? You made it this far too? I'm so glad to see you're alive." She stood there, how could she react to this, the tone. How could his tone be so casual?

"Idiot." He stopped, "How are you still alive? Is this some sort of joke?"

"Asuna..." He looked at her, both hers eyes were staring at him in horror. "I managed to beat it somehow, I farmed a bit on the first floor so my level isn't too far behind..."

"You, you look so much like him."

He snapped, he noticed finally how much damage he had caused. Was she that attached to him in such a short period of time. "I don't have time for this, I'm looking for someone, but I don't think a person like you could possible know anything."

"What?" Make her hate you, make her hate you.

"The boss room was easy, after a person is outside of the room the boss gets much weaker. Then whoever is left can easily get several levels in one go." Keep going, don't stop lying, "I led you there on purpose, thinking you would forget me and run. But you got in the way, so I gave you a little push."

She was walking towards him, "Did you really think I gave a damn about you or..." he felt her hand strike him across the face, he tumbled a few feet and lay there on the ground. He heard her left and at moment he knew he had succeeded.

So why was he the one in tears now?

* * *

"You gave up on the hunt? What... And I was excited about you two fighting too, some say he's the strongest right now."

"I lost the right to judge him. Nozo"

"Lost it? What are you talking about?"

"For an information broker you sure are nosy." He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. But she had grabbed his face.

"Wake up you lazy bum, I'm not letting you just sleep it off here inside my room, get your own in the inn." He didn't budge.

"Just let me stay the night, I'm tired and broke. I don't have enough money to rent my own room." At this he felt her drag him by the collar.

"Hey what the heck do you think you're doing?"

"Dragging you to the front lines, I'm not letting a meeting like that end with you being a lazy bum."

* * *

(Before)

"Hey, are you all right?" she stood there, sword at her side as the figure limped out. "Can you tell me about the area there, is it some kind of dungeon?"

He collapsed onto the ground, she ran over and caught him, she sighed. The town was quite close and she couldn't just leave him here to die. She grabbed him by the waist and tried to hoist him up, but she could barely manage.

Slowly but steadily she dragged him into town, so what if people stared at them the entire way, she didn't believe in chance encounters.

The game wanted this to happen, fate if you will.

* * *

"What do you mean you're not going any further? Don't we need to clear the game as fast as possible?" The party was large, two groups of six for a total of twelve people. The mix of people was also good, a few shields and enough damage based people.

"I told you it's too risky, the information compiled by beta testers on this stage is limited and the first boss was different. We need to wait for more people first."

"Get out of my way."

"Hey what the hell do you mean by that?" He shoved him aside and went to the doors, "The first boss made us lose a few people, the second boss was nearly as bad. In the testing the third boss is special, you can't leave the boss room."

Kotoru turned, his eyes were red, bloodshot, "Let, me, through." The group backed off, he slowly walked to the doors and shoved them open. "Nozo, disband party. Wait for me to clear the boss alone."

The doors slammed shut, the entire group started to laugh. A soft, scared kind of laugh.

_He's crazy_

_He's gonna die for sure_

_What's his problem anyway?_

"Ah the rest of our party is here." five more groups walked up to make forty two people in total, "Well then let's go in." The doors wouldn't budge.

"He's still in there? Damn it, is he just playing safe?" Then the door came loose and fell inwards. There alone in the centre circle, was Kotoru.

"You're kidding..., is he, is he one of those beaters?"

'Congratulations'

He was laughing, laughing his head off. His HP bar was low, nearly at zero. He turned around, the blade still in his hand.

"Who needs a party?"

* * *

**Please give reviews**


	2. Budding Flower

"Who needs a party eh?" Nozo hit him hard on the back of his head, "What about me? Do you not count me as part of your party."

How easily a reputation can be built, the player, no beater who soloed a boss by themselves. A player who stands there until his health drops to red before he attacks, whose skill at dodging made him almost untouchable.

"How many party invites today?" It had been a while since then, but people still wouldn't let up. He stayed out of boss battles for a few and watched as the players cleared level after level. "By the way, I found some information you might be interested in."

Nozo the information broker, a front line fighter and one who distributed information like flyers on the street. Very little people would party with her because of this, her friend list consisted of only one person. Kotoru.

"There was an announcement in the square, a special event only accessible by one class." She made dramatic music, leaning herself just above him and whispered it in his ear. "Reaper."

He sat up, "Any more information? Loot drops, monster levels?"

"Only one more thing, the event only lasts until tomorrow."

* * *

You're kidding.

'Clear All Monsters'

He did the math in his head, but even with his damage boost it took him too long to take one out. The room would maintain at least 10 at a certain period of time, it was impossible for him to keep up with the spawners. At this rate he was bound to get hit and die.

Slowly he pushed them back, the ghost knights each used a sword and shield based build. Their heads were gone and they played defensively, dashing through an opening he crashed through the door and landed back out in the open.

He crashed into someone as he tumbled face first into something soft.

"Y-you, pervert!" He was glad of the pain receptors, as he felt massive blunt force knee him hard. He lay there several seconds gasping in pain before he finally came to his senses.

"Asuna...?" Oh, crap. She sat there in the grass, her face was completely red, both hand crossed so that they nearly reached the other shoulder.

They both sat there facing each other, her gear was pretty much the same since the last time he saw her, but he could tell she was stronger than him now. The blue rapier hung loosely. He himself still wore the black cloak, but he found it didn't give any basic stats and was unable to be upgraded. More aesthetic than anything.

Desperate to change the topic, "Asuna, what are you doing here?" She stood up and dusted herself off, the dungeon was located a bit of a ways off from the nearest town. The fields surrounding it were filled with small groups of monsters but they were worth little exp.

She still looked mad, but at least she calmed down, "To scout the dungeon, a scripted event that was part of the beta test with absolutely no information provided. Beta testers said it was unacceptable, I came to see for myself." For some reason she decided to draw her blade and point it at him, "Then how can you access it, did you use some kind of cheat, are you a real beater?"

"Asuna, can you help me clear the dungeon?" The air paused at this, the sun continued to fly in its sky but the clouds became heavy. She stared at him, "I need help to clear the dungeon, can you help m..."

"No." She sheathed her blade and turned around to leave.

"Asuna, please."

"How dare you even suggest that, after you did that to me last time we partied, after you said something like that. You still think I would party with you for another mystery dungeon?" He paused, she was crying again, the same kind of tears she had felt before. Betrayed.

"Asuna, I'm, I'm sorry about that time, I didn't mean to..."

She didn't even look at him, turning around she briskly walked away, but she stopped for just a little too long, "If you really just need a strong person to party with, just stand in the central plaza. Plenty of people would want to participate in the special event, even some people stronger than..."

"Asuna, I want to party with you."

"Idiot." She left and he stood there alone. The doors closed behind him, there was about 27 hours before the dungeon closed.

He hoped he had enough time.

* * *

"Stop following me." He continued to follow her, "What the heck do you think you're doing, I already told you no."

"Please, you're the only person around here I know, I would ask Nozo but she wouldn't go. I don't know any of the other front liners well enough and lower level people would get put in danger if they went."

"I already told you, stand in the square and call for people. You could easily get a party." He continued to look at her pleadingly.

"I need someone I can trust, I don't want to drag in someone who'll

"Fine, we'll settle this in a duel then."

"A duel?"

"If I win you will leave me alone for the rest of the day, if you win I'll go with you. Understood."

"On one condition, it's a one strike duel."

'Duel Start' - '59'

"Idiot! I'm a rapier type user, how difficult would it be for me to land one strike?" She watched as he drank a special poison. His HP bar dropped far below safe areas, down all the way to red, nearly empty. "If I hit you, you'll probably die."

'27'

"Let me show you how I beat that lizard."

'Start'

Asuna ran up, she wasn't going to hesitate. She'd pay the cocky bastard back, going for a swift strike to the arm and then as he dodge right she's slash across and hit him.

As expect he sidestepped the blow to the arm, but as she fluently directed the blade to a light slash on his chest. He dodged it again, she thrust forward again, the blade neatly going under his arm as he did a slow wide arc slash at her head. Leaping back they stood a mere five meters apart.

She steadied her blade, he was fast, but...

Kotoru threw his blade to the side. Standing there unarmed he beckoned for her to strike. Damn bastard, she charged screaming as she did so going straight for the head. But he dodged it again, she stabbed recklessly at him, but he didn't even move from the stop. Simply bending left or right to watch the blade swish past.

She pulled back and put all her strength into a single thrust straight to the middle, but at that point he disappeared from her view. She felt something hold her wrist.

"The lizard doesn't get weaker when another player leaves." She felt the grip was his, but it was loose, delicate. She felt the blade fall out of her hand. "I can dodge well enough, even if I would have a lot less chance of surviving when you left I couldn't let you stay."

She felt him hold her up, "If one of those strikes goes past me, one that maybe you expected me to deflect. You could've been killed. I-I didn't want to risk such a thing. I'm sorry, for lying to you." Somehow she knew this was the truth. She closed her eyes and found herself smiling.

"I've changed my mind, I just wanted to spend time with you. Even if you hated me for it, I was, trying to give myself an excuse. I'll go to the square and find someone." He let her go and stood up, "I'm sorry for, everything." Turning to leave she called to him.

"You sure?"

"Yes." He looked back, a melancholic smile. "Thank you for that duel, it was the most fun I've had in a while."

A notification popped up, she wanted to add him to her friend list. "I know someone who I trust, you can go find him." she sent over the details she knew. He felt shivers as he read the name.

_Kirito_

* * *

_I no longer have the right to judge him do I?_

As he stood there outside the location Asuna gave him, he couldn't help but hesitate. He'd been so willing to kill him before and now he was gonna crawl up and ask for help. A flashback of the previous conversation flashed through his head

_He's not a bad person, how can I tell? Hmm, I don't know, intuition?_

Knocking on the door, he heard the rustling of blankets inside. As the door opened he came face to face with him.

Asuna was right, they looked a lot alike.

"What do you want, I thought I already paid for the..." He stopped, "Who are you?"

"My name is Kotoru, nice to meet you, Kirito."

* * *

As they both fought together they were able to surpass the spawn speed.

_Asuna sent you? Fine, I'll tag along_

As the last of the ghost knights faded the quest progressed to its second stage. A boss monster. The figure was humanoid, not even enlarged. But in its hand it held a one handed sword, in the other hand was a light round shield.

"Dark Shadow?"

The figure roared, a skeletal type roar, but flesh still hung on its faded body. It was dressed in a midnight black cloak, the same kind of cloak that Kotoru was wearing.

"You... Dare to disturb my slumber. I have worked my entire life to sustain this world and you would come to ruin it!"

Kirito and Kotoru both raised their blades, "A boss that talks, this is a fun event."

"I, shall murder you. You'll never take my place!" it roared again slashing forward. Kotoru tried to block the blow but it was too heavy. He wanted to duck under the blade.

_You could've been killed_

He gritted his teeth and tried to hold out, the blade continued to push against him and he felt his health bar decreases. As he did Kirito landed several hits in quick succession and boss refocused onto him.

As he watched Kirito block blow after blow, he felt something deep inside him wake up. That feeling he had for Asuna, he wanted to protect her. The first person he could remember meeting, the first person who had trusted him.

But Kirito could do it better.

The way she spoke of him, somewhere deep down inside he knew what that feeling was. It was still budding, but somehow he knew.

"Switch." He snapped out of it and jumped back in, slashing at its legs to make it squeal it slashed forward with its blade. A move they both anticipated. Dodging it he drove his sword straight through its chest, watching the HP bar drop slowly into the zero zone before it burst into bright shards.

'Congratulations'

They both were panting by that time, Kotoru checked his inventory to find the killing blow reward.

_No way..._

It was a weapon that he knew, the boss was holding it just now. He equipped it and held it in his hand. But he couldn't.

_Elucidator?_

The blade was heavy, but its stats looked good. "You got any good drops?" he looked up at Kirito, he seemed pleased, there must've been something useful for him too, but...

_I really should_

"Can you promise me something?" He sent over the blade in a trade, "Take care of Asuna."

* * *

When he got back he found Nozo wasn't around. A notice was left on the door.

'Gone out hunting, please wait until tomorrow for information'

He stopped at the door, it was night. She should've been back by now. He walked into the house and looked around. Nothing. Then a thought occurred to him, he opened up his inventory and checked his shared inventory space.

Right there, he found a long list of items. All of her equipment, a bunch of rare goods and one more item.

A message recording device lay at the bottom, his fingered hovered above it. Should he open it?

"Kotoru, I'm sure you've realized this by now, but hunting didn't go as planned. An orange guild caught me out in the open and I've only managed to hide for now. I'm pretty sure they'll find me, so here goes."

"Kotoru, I love you."

The message ended, he sat there in the room. Shocked at what he just heard, he sat down.

"She's over here!" Screams, he could hear words through all the screaming though, only a few, but enough to make him leap to the door.

"You'll die for trespassing in the territory of Night Ravens!"

* * *

**I know it has only been one day and I had just finished the last chapter, but, here's the next one. Since I'm on holiday for a week I might be able to keep this rate up. So if you're following the story check in tomorrow for the next chapter. I make up the method that Kirito gains Elucidator and if this has serious clashes with the series, I am not aware of it.**


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